Warp knit girdle with integral supporting panels



Jan. 7, 1936. c R. BURNS WARP KNIT GIRDLE WITH INTEGRAL SUPPORTING PANELS Filed Feb. 12, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /F l 2\ /i gmmxm Charles 2?. Burns Jan. 7, 1936. c R, BURNS WARP KNIT GIRDLE WITH INTEGRAL SUPPORTING PANELS Filed Feb. 12, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES.

PATENT, OFFICE WARP KNIT GIRDLE WITH INTEGRAL SUPPORTING PANELS of Pennsylvania 7 Application February 12, 1935, Serial No. 6,214

2 Claims. (Cl. 66-476) This invention relates to an elastic garment of the girdle type and it has for its general object to provide a knit article of apparel adapted to encircle the body or a member thereof under tension, and being integrally knit with body supporting panels or areas of less elasticity than the other portions of the garment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment of the warp knit type in which rubber strands are incorporated at substantially uniform intervals, and being elastic in both directions through the correlated inherent elasticity of the rubber and the elasticity incident to the deformability of the mesh, in which the elasticity in certain panels or areas is reduced by the provision of additional filling threads, which diminish the deformability of the mesh and impede freedom of action of the rubber.

Another object of the invention is the constru panel which directly resists the body pressure, but

Ialso from the panel on the opposite side of the Another object of the invention is the provision of a fabric of the warp knit type in which rubber strands are incorporated and in which panels or areas of less elasticity than other areas are formed by the addition of relatively inelastic filling threads whereby such elasticity as is incident to the deformabllity of the mesh is reduced and the freedom. of action of the rubber strands inhibited.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the following specification and throughout the several figures of which the same characters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a girdle on 12? model, embodying the features of the inven- Figure 2 is a front elevation of the girdle;

Figure 3 is a back elevation;

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the distri. bufion of the rubber strands and the inelastic threads in adjacent panels; and

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the order in which the thread guides are filled on the needle bars of the warp machine in the production of the novel fabric.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral i represents in general a girdle con- 5 structed from fabric knit on a warp machine and having rubber strands 2, see Figure 6, incorporated into its structure. The girdle being knit is elastic in both directions through the capacity of the meshes for deformation when stretched 10 and the elasticity of the garment as a. whole is enhanced by the incorporation of the rubber strands 2. The girdle has special provisions for supporting the abdomen consisting of an integrally knit front panel 3 of less elasticity than the side porl5 7 tions of the girdle and a complementary back panel A constructed similarly to the front panel 3 and being also of less elasticity than the side portions. The reduced elasticity of the front panel resists the tendency to bulge produced by 20 the pressure of the abdomen and the back panel by virtue of its reduced elasticity also assists the front panel to maintain its relatively plane shape by limiting the capacity of the girdle to stretch circumferentially to the relative narrow elastic side panels 5 and 6.

The girdle as shown is made from flat fabric, stitched together at one or both of the sides as at the seam I, but it is quite conceivable that it might be knit on a tubular warp machine without transcending the scope of the invention.

Figures 5 and 6 show that the rubber strands 2 are preferably distributed at equal space intervals throughout the extent of the garment both in the more elastic and less elastic portions thereof. The difierence in elasticity between the front and back panels and the side panels is produced by numerically densifying the relatively inelastic threads 8 in the back and front panels. It is preferred to distribute the rubber strands uniformly rather than to concentrate them in regions where greater elasticity is desired, for not only is an area where the rubber strands are relatively numerous or concentrated non-absorbent and non ventilating and therefore uncomfortable to the wearer, but the tendency of the rubber where the rubber strands are closely grouped is to draw the fabric together, thus making it irregular in width.

It is to be preferred to thicken the fabric in the front and back panels by increasing the number of inelastic threads and so not only to fill the interstices of the meshes and prevent extreme deformation of the same, but also to restrict the free contractile and expansive movement of the rubber strands and so to inhibit their elasticity.

Figure 6 shows diagrammatically the thread guide bars 9 and III of a warp knitting machine, the row of needles being indicated at H. The broken line :1: indicates the-boundary between a thin, relatively elastic panel of the fabric on the right and a thick, relatively inelastic panel on the left. It will be observed that on the guide bar 8 only every other thread guide is filled for the knitting of the thin elastic area or panel,-the guides l2 being empty and the alternate remaining guides being filled with inelastic threads 8 and the rubber strand 2. On the guide bar ID in the region of the thin fabric every other thread guide I! is empty, the alternate guides being filled with inelastic threads 8. On account of the alternate vacant thread guides, the meshes produced by these portions of the guide bars will be relatively large and open so that they are subject to maximum deformability in the stretching of the fabric, and there is comparatively little frictional restraint to the stretching or contracting of the rubber strands. y

In those portions of the guide bars which are concerned with the knitting of the heavy panels 3 and 4 every thread guide isoccupied. On the bar 9, every fourth thread guide carries a rubber strand 2, just at the same space .intervalas in the portion of the guide bar associated with the knitting of the thin panel. All of the other thread guides are filled with inelastic threads 8. In that part of the guide bar In which functions in the knitting of the heavy panels, every thread guide.

carries an inelastic thread 8. It is obvious that the knitting accomplished by these portions of the guide bars will be relatively close mesh, so that the meshes are capable of comparatively little deformation, while the rubber strands being crowded by the inelastic threads will be frictionally hampered in their contractile and expansive movements. Thus, by increasing the numerical density of the inelastic threads, rather than by grouping the rubber threads in relatively close and distant formation in the respective areas, an integrally knit fabric is produced having panelsor areas with the desired degrees or characteristics of elasticity. 1

A girdle in-which the front and back panels are integrally knit with the side panels is of decided advantage over a similar garment in which the panels are incorporated as separate inserts inasmuch as there are no seams to irritate the body of the wearer or to show as ridges through an outer garment. Furthermore, the cutting of the rubber strands which is the inevitable result of stitching the seams together is avoided. A gar- 5 ment in which the rubber strands are uniformly distributed is more comfortable, as has been noted than one in which there are relatively non-hygroscopic areas produced by concentration of the rubber strands and the thickening of the front l and back panels by the incorporation of the additional non-elastic threads, creates a certain degree of stiffness in said panels which holds the abdomen flat and prevents sagging or bulging of the girdle in regions of localized pressure.

It is obvious that the invention may be applied to other articles of apparel than girdles.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical em- 4 bodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the details of construction as illustrated and described and the particular order of arrangement of the relative elastic and inelastic yarns in the fabric are merely by way of illustration and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

l. Girdle of warp knit fabric comprising side panels of major elasticity and front and back panels of minor elasticity, said panels being integrally knit, including rubber strands incorporated into said fabric in both said front, back and side panels at substantially uniform space intervals, the elasticity of the front and back panels being diminished by the incorporation of a greater number of inelastic threads into said knitting per unit of circumference than in the side panels.

2.'Gird1e of warp knit fabric comprising side panels of major elasticity and front and back panels of minor elasticity, said panels being in- 40 tegrally knit, including rubber strands incorporated into said fabric throughout both said front, back and side panels, the elasticity of the front and back panels being diminished by the incorporation of a greater number of inelastic threads into said knitting per unit of circumference than in the side panels, whereby the front and back panels are also stiffer and thicker than the side panels.

CHARLES R. BURNS. 

